King Street Station Can Transform the City

Seattle has invested a great deal in King Street Station and the surrounding area, why not go a little further and make it a world-class transit hub?
Out of the three designated hubs in downtown Seattle, King Street is arguably the primary transit hub bringing together Amtrak, streetcar, local and regional bus, and light rail. In the not too distant future, rapid ride from West Seattle and access into downtown from SR-99 will both have significant impacts to this area. Using the already congested street grid to transfer between systems is not a coordinated nor safe approach for transit riders.

All the transit systems in the hub are just a block or two away from where you hoped they would be. Light Rail is a trek across 4th from King Street Station; bus stops on Jackson are one-two blocks away; and the First Hill streetcar stops are a block or two in either direction. The City and transit agencies need to think bigger, in a way that leverages the investments in this hub including the restoration of the historic station, the North Lot, Union Station, and the Stadium District. In early thinking about the North Lot there was an idea proposed that included a significant bus terminal proposed for 4th Ave S over the BNSF tracks- this would provide the opportunity to create a stacked connection including Sounder, local bus, and perhaps an underground connection to Link. It’s time to start thinking about this facility now so that the promise of a real transit hub can be realized and the benefits of investment in the neighborhood can bring about real change. Change that’s been planned for in the Livable South Downtown Plan.

The experience of San Francisco has an uncanny comparison.
Downtown San Francisco is a maze of cranes these days and the 6-block long gaping hole next to Mission Street that will become the Transbay Transit Center is a healthy contributor to the current crane count. With an anticipated patronage of 100,000 every weekday and 45 million annually, Transbay will be one of the largest transit hubs on the West Coast. From local rail and bus service to Amtrak and Greyhound, Transbay will provide the hub for more than 8 transit agencies including Caltrain and High Speed Rail. Originally built in 1939 to handle electric trolley service (and later bus service) from the newly constructed Bay Bridge, the original building was razed and along with several earthquake related ramp removals that provided the real estate and a significant source of funding for the new Transbay Center. The new Transbay was conceived in 2008 and is to be completed in 2017. But even the 70’ deep hole in Soma is already spurring development including the Transbay Tower- planned to be 200′ taller than the Transamerica pyramid.
Seattle has the opportunity now to rethink how transit systems come together at King Street Station and to create a world-class transit center befitting a world-class city.

Absolutely, focusing services and integrating a hub together should be a priority. I like the Greyhound idea.

A starting point might be better integrating the walk routes between King Street Station and ID/Chinatown Station. I don’t recall the signage being obvious enough. The skybridge to the North Lot is woefully undersized on stadium game days, with train access hampered by crowds waiting to cross the street. A second crossing could be built.

The biggest debate might be how to accommodate the next round of light rail through Downtown. A high-capacity system probably means another tunnel.

Tim Davis

I totally agree, Matt and Darby! For 20 years I’ve been incredibly frustrated by how poorly integrated Seattle’s transit centers have been.

It’s time for massive, Interbay-scaled overhaul! Otherwise, we’ll never be truly serious about transit.

By the way, this article’s grammar was **horrible.** Every sentence contained numerous errors. I’m thinking of re-writing it. 🙂

This is all wrapped into Seattle’s inability to deal with transit services in a cohesive fashion. Of course, this should be a major transportation hub for the area. Question is can it get past the red tape that seems to continually muddle us?